Pocket cigarette making machine



Jam" 28, 193$. E CALDERlO 2,@2@,$W

POCKET CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINE Filed Jan. 25, 1934 fio I gnaw/Wi 34 Patented Jan. 28, 1936 UNE'E'ED STAT FATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in pocket cigarette making machines.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a device of this class having a pair of rollers and. a single traveling apron adapted to be wound on the rollers, the cigarette being made in a trough formed by the apron between the rollers, as the apron passes from one roller to the other, said device being compact and simple in construction, reliable and efiicient in operation and inexpensive to manufacture.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the above character having guard plates associated with the ends of the casing adjacent the lateral edges of the apron, which are automatically positioned with respect to the ends of the trough in the apron, when the casing is in open or closed position, to retain the tobacco in the ends of the trough and tightly and evenly pack the tobacco in the cigarette ends, while rolling the cigarette, thus forming a perfect machine made cigarette.

A still further object of the invention is to provide tension members in the sides of the casing manually operable to regulate the tension of the apron when rolling the cigarette, so as to form a tightly or loosely rolled cigarette.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel spring means for opening the casing and a spring catch for holding the casing closed.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification and in which like reference numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of the machine,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, with parts broken away,

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a cross section taken on line 55 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 66 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary detail view of the hinge connection between the casing sections,

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional View of one of the rollers showing the connection between the roller and apron, and,

. Fig.9 is a detail side view of the roller showing the connection between the roller and turning knob.

Referring to the drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustration I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5, denotes an elongated hollow casing, in its entirety, which is preferably constructed of a suitable composition spring material. The casing is divided longitudinally into sections 6 and l, hingedly connected together at each end, by pivot pins 8, extending through the overlapping ears 9, project ing from the adjacent ends of the end walls Iii, near the bottom of the casing. The lower edge of the end wall or section 6, is formed with an arcuate recess H, as shown in Fig. '7, which permits the sections of the casing to swing on their pivots to an open position, the movement of the sections being limited by the shoulder I2, which abuts against the edge of the end. wall of the other section. The sections of the casing are moved to open position by the U-shaped leaf spring I3, disposed intermediate the ends of the casing, which has openings I 4 adjacent each end adapted to engage over the pins I5, projecting from the inner wall of each section and the ends of the spring engage beneath the projections I6 formed integral with the wall holding the spring in position and secure against displacement.

The bottom meeting edge ll, of section 6 extends beneath the bottom of edge I8 oi the section 1, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4, the intermediate portion of the edge I! being provided with spaced parallel slits I9, forming a spring tongue or catch 20, having a downwardly extending projection 2I, at its free edge adapted to engage in the longitudinal slot 22, formed in the bottom of section I, adjacent the edge IS, the projection being normally retained in the slot 22, by the raised projection 23 formed along the slot opposite the projection 2|, whereby the sections are held in closed position. The strip along the bottom of section 1, between the slot 22 and edge I8 is depressible and has a raised finger piece 24 on the outside which when pressed by the finger moves the catch 20 inwardly thereby releasing the projection 2i from engagement with the slot 22 and projection 23, so that the sections are free to open under the action of spring I3.

The opposite end walls of each section, near the top, have bosses 25 formed on the inside provided with bearing recesses 26 to receive one end of the rollers 21, and the other end walls are provided with bearing openings 28, through which the opposite ends of the rollers project. The

ends of the rollers are secured inrthe. bearing recesses 26; by U-shaped shims 2s, inserted through slots 30, intersecting the recesses iinto engagement? with the annular grooves3l in the rollers. The projecting ends of the rollers extend slightly beyond the ends of the sections.

and; have turning knobs 32 fitted thereon. ;The rollers 2'! are split longitudinally, as at 33; for the greater portion of their length, to receive the ends of the apron or belt 3d, which are re.- tained therein, by beads 35 formed along the ends of the apron, which seats in the groove 36, formed along one edge of the split. The apron is constructed of suitable flexible rubberized material and is adapted to be wound on either of the rollers upon turning the knobs 32 and is of such a length that it can be projected downwardly between the rollers to form a trough to receive the tobacco. As shown in Fig. 9, a positive connection is established between the knobs 32 and rollers 21; the rib 37 formed integral with the knob which fits in the end of the split 33 in the rollers.

The side walls of each section,-intermediate,

itsends, and at a point adjacent the rollers 21, has a spring tension member 38, struck therefrom whichis formed by the spaced vertical parallel slots li and longitudinal connecting slot 413. The outside of the members 38 have finger pieces 4! formed integral therewith for depressing the tension members 38 into frictional contact with the apron wound on the rollers and thereby, control the tension 'onthe apron so that the cigarette may be rolled loosely or tightly. The top meeting edges of the sections are slightly spaced apart, as at s2, so as not to bind the ci arett-e paper inserted therein, in which the to- V the width of the casing when closed. The lower end of theplates are. pivotally mounted'on'the pivot pins 8 and oppositeedges of the plates at the lower end thereof are provided with recesses 44 to receive the lugs d5, projecting from the sidesof the casing, which co -act with the recesses 'to center the guard plates between the sections,

when thecasing is open so as to cover the ends of the trough and retain the tobacco therein. a

When making a cigarette, the device is held horizontally in the hands, with the apron 3d wound upon the roller nearest the person. The finger piece 2d at the bottom of the casing is hen depressed releasing the catch 28, so that the sections of the case, under the'action of the iiig I 3, are moved to an open position. The

is prevented from falling over the ends of the the'cigarette and after the 'proper'ouantity or" 'tbbacc'ois deposited in the trough, the cigarette 1 "paper is inserted withiits edge disposed between "the tobacco and apron near'the inner roller. The

casing is then closed with 'the free edge of the 'cigarette'fpaper projecting through the space 62 between the top rneeting edges of thecasingse'c- 7k ront l between the two rollers is depressed to forma trough, in which to place the charge of tobacco for making a cigarette, and the tobacco the casing is open.

tions and is held closed by the spring catch 26 which engages in the slot 22. The apron 34 is then wound on the roller farthest from the person by turning" the knob 32, which draws the cigarette 'paper into the device and, winds it snugly around the tobacco to form the cigarette. Just before the free edge of the paper enters the device the edge is moistened by passing the tongue thereover which causes the edges of the paper to adhere together, when wound completely around the tobacco. In thus forming the cigarette the apron will be wound wholly upon the roller farthest irom the person and by reversing the device it is ready for rolling another cigarette. After the cigarette is formed the catch 2G is released and upon movement of the casing sections open position the apron be tween the rollers isdrawn taut to a horizontal position which elevates the finished cigarette so that it may be easily removed from the device.

A tightly or loosely rolled cigarette may be formed by regulating the tension of the apron as it is unwound from the roller, which is manually controlled by depressing the tension member 38 into irictionai contact with the apron on the roller,

their being one tension member for each roller.

From the above it is evident that the several steps of my method to make a cigarette include the forming of a loop in a flexible apron between two pivotally approachable rollers, placing the tobacco :in said loop and inserting the wrapper through the mouth thereof, winding the apron on one roller while unwinding it from the other, thus pulling the apron so as to roll the tobacco and wrapper into a cigarette and tensioning the apron so as to cause radial conipressionas'well as axial compression of the tobacco against the guard plates or end compression members. It is also to be noted that in device the loop of the i apron is during rolling free to bulge out in all directions and that no lateral point pressures are caused by the tensioning of the apron which pressures must of necessity tend to flatten out scope of the subjoined claims. 7

Having thus described my invention, I claim:-- 1. A cigarette making machine comprising a casing composed of two hinged sections, a roller journaled in each of said sections, an apron extending between and connected to said rollers, adapted to form a trough between said rollers for the rolling of a cigarette, a guard plate pivotally mounted at each end of said casing adjacent the edges of said'apron, the lower end of said plates having recesses in its opposed edges, and. lugs projecting from the sections of said casing engageable in'sai-drecesses adapted to center said 7 guard'plates' with the ends oi the trough when r 2. A. cigarette making machine comprising a casing composed of two hinged sections, a roller 7 journaled in each of the sections, an apron ex tending between said rollers adapted to form a end of said casing "adjacent theedges of said apron and lugs integral with the sections of said casingadapted tofmove said guard plates-when the casing is opened, to center the plates with the ends of the trough.

3. A cigarette making machine comprising a casing composed of two hinged sections, a roller journaled in each of saidsections, an apron extending between said rollers adapted to be wound thereon, spring tension members struck from the sides of said casing intermediate their length adapted to be moved into frictional engagement with the apron wound on said rollers to control the tension of said apron while rolling the cigarette, and spring means helping to hold said tension members out of engagement with said apron.

4. A cigarette making machine comprising a casing composed of two hinged sections, a roller journaled in each of said sections, an apron extending between and connected to said rollers, adapted to form a trough between said rollers, for the rolling of a cigarette, and spring tension members struck from the sides of said casing, centrally of their length, adapted to be moved into frictional engagement only with the central portion of the apron Wound on said rollers to control the tension of said apron while rolling the cigarette.

5. A cigarette making machine comprising a casing composed of hinged sections, a roller journaled in each of said sections, an apron extending between and connected to said rollers adapted to form a trough between said rollers, for the rolling of a cigarette, a guard plate pivotally mounted at each end of said casing adjacent the edges or" said apron, and spring tension members struck from the sides of said casing centrally of their length, adapted to be pressed into frictional contact only with the central portion of the apron wound on said rollers whereby the tension of the apron is regulated when rolling a cigarette.

6. The method of making a cigarette with a cigarette maln'ng machine having a casing provided with a central tension applying member substantially in the plane of the inner surface of the casing, which consists in placing tobacco in a loop formed in a flexible apron adapted to be moved beneath the tension applying member, in serting a wrapper through the mouth of said loop between the tobacco and apron, moving the apron so as to roll the tobacco and wrapper into a cigarette, allowing the loop to bulge freely laterally in all directions and applying pressure only at the tension applying member while moving the apron beneath the same.

7. In a cigarette making machine having a casing with a substantially plane surface, the combination of a pair of pivotally approachable rollers, a flexible apron extending between said rollers adapted to form a trough therebetween for the reception of tobacco and a wrapper, end members abutting the edges of the apron, and centrally located means normally lying in substantially the same plane as the plane surface of the casing, for applying tension only to the center of said apron to cause radial and axial compression of the tobacco when rolling the same.

8. A cigarette machine comprising in combination a casing, pivotally approachable rollers mounted in said casing, an apron extending between and connected to said rollers, adapted to form a trough between said rollers, means for winding said apron on one roller while unwinding it from the other, and a central tension applying member carried by said casing adapted for applying direct pressure only to the central portion of the apron on the roller being unwound.

9. A cigarette machine comprising in combination a casing, pivotally approachable rollers mounted in said casing, an apron extending between and connected to said rollers, adapted to form a trough between said rollers, means for winding said apron on one roller while unwinding it from the other, a central tension member substantially in the plane of the surface of said casing and a projection extending outwardly from said tension member for pressing said tension member into frictional contact with the apron wound on said roller.

10. A cigarette machine comprising in combination a casing, pivotally approachable rollers mounted in said casing, an apron extending between and connected to said rollers adapted to form a trough between said rollers, means for winding said apron on one roller while unwinding it from the other, a spring tension member struck from said casing, centrally of its length, adjacent said rollers, and a projection extending outwardly from said tension member for applying tension directly to the central portion of the apron wound on said roller.

11. The method of making a cigarette with a cigarette making machine having a casing provided with a pair of rollers and a central tension applying member, which consists in placing tobacco in a loop formed in a flexible apron adapted to be wound on and unwound from the rollers, beneath the tension applying member, inserting a wrapper through the mouth of said loop between the tobacco and apron, moving the apron so as to roll the tobacco and wrapper into a cigarette, allowing the loop to bulge freely laterally in all directions and applying the tension directly to the central portion only of the apron on the roller being unwound.

EDWARD CALDERIO. 

